The Phoenix office of Jones Lang LaSalle has completed a 38-acre land sale in Phoenix’s Southwest Valley that, by early 2013, will be home to approximately 600,000 SF of speculative, state-of-the-art industrial space.

The site, located at the NEC of 63rd Ave. and Sherman Way in Phoenix, was acquired by a venture between USAA Real Estate Company and Seefried Industrial Properties. The venture will proceed with the development of Estrella Logistics Center, a speculative $30M, 592,500 SF, cross-dock distribution building.

“Seefried and USAA are specialists in developing, leasing and managing premier industrial logistics projects,” Lydon said. “They are experts at knowing what to build and where to build it, and they have chosen an exceptional time to deliver speculative industrial product in Phoenix.”

According to Jones Lang LaSalle research, there is approximately 6 MSF of current user demand in Phoenix for requirements of 100,000 SF or more; however, supply has not kept up with demand. As such, the market experienced an anaemic first quarter, with just 92,598 SF of net industrial absorption as compared to a total 6.9 MSF of net industrial absorption in 2011.

“The only local industrial construction that we’ve seen completed this year falls in the single-tenant, build-to-suit category,” Hertzberg said. “This does little to satisfy this market’s broader demand for large blocks of space. This will be the key driver for new Phoenix speculative industrial development in 2012.”

Jones Lang LaSalle reports that demand for larger industrial spaces in the Southwest is the strongest among national retailers, food and beverage distributors, solar and e-commerce businesses. This is due in large part to Phoenix’s proximity to California, its 30 to 40% lower business costs, and the availability of quality land that is also near the market’s many accessible transportation lines.

The future Estrella Logistics Center site will be fully improved with all of the modern logistics amenities expected by the supply chain industry. The project sits just south of Interstate 10, between the 59th and 67th avenues full interchanges.

Construction on Estrella Logistics Center is slated to begin in October and will be completed by May 2013. For occupancy, Seefried and USAA plan to pursue corporate employers seeking a scalable space solution.

About Peter Madrid

Peter Madrid has more than 30 years of experience in the newspaper industry as an editor and reporter at USA Today, Kansas City Star, Tucson Citizen and Arizona Republic. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico.